Legislative Branch Review Flash Cards Use your left or right arrows to advance forward or backwards.

2 bicameral

3 A legislative body composed of two chambers

4 census

5 Official count of the population of the United States done every 10 years

6 concurrent powers

7 Powers that both the national government and the states have

8 delegated powers

9 Powers expressly granted to the national government by the Constitution.

10 elastic clause

11 The clause in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution that gives Congress the right to make all laws, "necessary and proper" to carry out the powers expressed in the other clauses in Article I

12 entitlements

13 Government programs designed to help elderly, ill and unemployed citizens

14 ex post facto laws

15 A law applied to an act committed before the law's passage Forbidden by the Constitution

16 filibuster

17 The use of long speeches to prevent a vote on a bill in the Senate

18 General Assembly

19 The state legislative body in the state of Maryland consisting of the Senate and the House of Delegates

20 geographic characteristics

21 Physical and human characteristics of a place or region.

22 Gerrymandering

23 The dividing of a geographic area into an electoral district to give an unfair advantage to a party or group.

24 Implied powers

25 Magna Carta

26 A document drawn up by English nobles in 1215 that spelled out certain rights and limited the King's power.

27 public policy

28 Government responses to public issues; all of the goals a government sets

29 ratification

30 Formal approval; final consent to the effectiveness of a constitution, constitutional amendment, or treaty.

31 reapportionment

32 Redistribution of political representation of the basis of population changes, usually after a census

33 redistricting

34 To set up new district lines after reapportionment is complete

35 regions

36 An area with one or more common characteristics of features, which give it a measure of homogeneity and make it different from surrounding areas.

37 Reserved powers

38 Those powers that the Constitution does not grant to the national government and does not, at the same time, deny to the states.

39 Smart growth

40 Government policy in Maryland to address the issues of urban sprawl, urban decay and environmental concerns such as the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

41 tax

42 Mandatory payment to the government

43 urban sprawl

44 Sprawl is the spreading out of a city and its suburbs over more and more rural land at the periphery of an urban area.